CH. 95 - A Confession Under the Lights

 Lucy turns on some cold water and hoses Shiori down in the tub. She shudders and shivers from the cold water being splashed over her.

 “Sheesh, that works a treat, huh?” Shiori says while holding herself tightly in the cold water, shivering. Chizuru and Hisana giggle as Lucy continues to help wash Shiori.

 “Yeah, and with a drink of this, you should be freed from the love potion.” Lucy says as Hisana opens a small bottle and gives it to Shiori. It glows a little blue color, but Shiori drinks it anyway. She sticks her tongue out from the taste.

 “Bleh.. Bitter!” She says.

 “I’m glad you guys came back when you did. Who knows what they would’ve done.” Chizuru says with a concerned look.

 “Nah, they wouldn’t have done anything on the floor of the living room.” Lucy says with a smirk.

 “You got that right. That would haunt me for the rest of my life…” Shiori says, drooping at the thought.

 “I’m sure you’d grow to cherish it.” Hisana adds as the girls look at her. “What? I’m a romantic.” She says as they giggle. Lucy then perks up.

 “Oh, Shiori! Did you see what Chizuru was doing earlier?” She asks excitedly. Chizuru blushes with a shocked look as Shiori thinks.

 “No, it’s all kind of a blur for me.” Shiori says.

 “We totally caught Chizuru and Touma making out! Haha!” Lucy says with a laugh.

 “Lucy! You don’t need to tell everyone, they already sawww!” Chizuru whines.

 “So, I take it that bruise on your neck wasn’t an accident?” Hisana asks with a smug look. Chizuru notices her neck in the mirror and covers it with her hand, embarrassed.

 “Why am I getting teased?? Shouldn't you be teasing her?” Chizuru asks, trying to shift the attention to Shiori instead. The girls giggle together as they talk about the wild events of that night.

 A little later, Shiori and Hikigaya sit on the couch next to each other, much calmer than they were a bit ago. 

 “Ah~” they sigh in unison. 

 “And here you go, my lady. One macaroni and cheese with chicken. Grilled, not fried.” Haru says while lifting her meal in front of her as if to be a fancy waiter. Shiori looks surprised.

 “Thanks, but.. How did you know I like it this way?” Shiori asks. Haru smiles before nodding towards Hikigaya next to her. She turns and looks at him as he blushes and looks away, embarrassed. Shiori blushes and smiles warmly while taking her meal.

 “Thank you..” she says softly before taking a spoonful of her food. The friends eat and hangout a little more before bedtime eventually rolls around.

 “Welp, after that and this wonderful meal delivered by.. Larry.” Alice says while checking the phone. “I’m going to bed. I’m tired.” She says openly as she gets up. Sugawara looks a little worried as he looks at Shiori and Hikigaya.

 “Will it be okay to leave them alone again?. Like while they sleep and stuff?.” Sugawara asks softly. Shiori crosses her arms and leans back on the couch.

 “Oh, don’t worry about me. I feel nothing towards this dummy.” Shiori says with her eyes closed. The friends look at them as Hikigaya speaks up.

 “Is that so? I could say the same about you. I look at you and feel nothing.” Hikigaya says, leaning closer to her. Shiori looks at him and leans closer too.

 “Good. That’s how it should be.” She says, smirking a bit as he smirks too. The others are shocked as Lucy clenches her fist.

 “Suiyoubi… if your potion made them lose all feelings for each other, I swear..!” Lucy turns to her angrily as Suiyoubi puts up her hands defensively.

 “I-I didn’t! It should’ve only countered the other potion. If it did, I don’t really understand how…” she says as they trail off. On the couch, Shiori and Hikigaya watch their friends panicking and giggle to themselves a little.

 “You guys are so mean.” Kitaro says casually without looking away from his game. They look at him before looking back at each other.

 “I know.” Shiori says softly as Hikigaya giggles. They then press their foreheads together and softly nuzzle each other a bit. Kitaro looks at them from the corner of his eye and smiles softly before continuing his game.

 The next and last day of their trip quickly comes. Shiori and Hikigaya sit on the couch looking super drained of life and energy. Sugawara looks at them with a slightly concerned look.

 “Is this normal?..” he asks anyone to answer his concerns.

“I think so. The love potion set their bodies into overdrive, so they’d certainly be drained. It might take days for them to recover.” Suiyoubi explains as Sugawara looks back at the two when suddenly Chizuru jumps onto their laps happily.

 “Come on, guys! It’s the last day of our trip, you can’t be all done yet!” Chizuru says as she lies on their laps. Suddenly, the two of them snap back to normal.

 “You know, that’s a really good point.” Shiori says.

“Why didn’t we think of that sooner?” Hikigaya says too. They both sound sarcastic before Hikigaya gets up, pushing Chizuru to the floor. He stretches his back with a still slightly tired face. “I guess she’s right, though. Might as well make the most of our last day.” Hikigaya says with a huff. Shiori stands and stretches her arm across her chest.

 “I guess so. I’m feeling pretty back to normal, anyway.” Shiori says casually. Suiyoubi is shocked.

 “Already??” she asks. Ryuji pats her on the back.

 “They’re barely human as is. You’ll get used to it.” Ryuji says. Chizuru raises her hand from the ground with a poster in her grasp.

 “Well, I found something we could do.” She says from the floor. Shiori grabs the poster and looks at it before drooping a bit.

 “A summer festival?..” she asks. Hikigaya quickly grabs the poster from her with an excited look.

 “Really? Main, that would be so fun!” Hikigaya says happily.

 “Games, prizes, food galore!” Haru says happily too. They start dancing together, chanting about the food and games as Lucy approaches Shiori and Chizuru, who stands up.

 “We found it on a pole last night before we came back. Technically, I found it.” Lucy says, quickly swiping the paper from Chizuru, who giggles. Shiori sweats a bit.

 “Does this mean I have to wear a kimono again?..” she asks.

“Well duh! If you want to impress your man.” Chizuru says before nodding towards Hikigaya, who gets slapped on the back hard by a smiling Haru in the background.

 “I guess…” Shiori mumbles. Hikigaya then angrily punches Haru into the roof in response in the background.

 “From the sound of it, I’m sure she did plenty of impressing with him last night.” Lucy says with a smirk as Shiori freaks out and shushes her.

 “We don’t need to mention it, like, ever again!..” She whispers aggressively as they giggle. Hisana turns and looks at Kitaro, who is playing on his phone.

 “Are you gonna ask me out under the fireworks?” Hisana asks with a smile.

 “No.” he responds coldly.

 “Fine, if you insist, I guess I can ask you out instead.” Hisana says with a bashful and blushy look. Alice approaches the three of them discussing the yukata.

 “I don’t see the purpose of dressing up all fancy. I say let Shiori be free from those restricting clothes!” Alice says, nose bleeding a little. “The cute patterns and soft makeup wouldn’t do her beauty justice, anyway. Her hair being all put up with a cute little bag in her… soft… delicate hands…” Alice starts blushing as she thinks of Shiori in the outfit before looking at Shiori. Shiori sweats a bit as Alice makes a silly face. “On second thought… get her!” She shouts before Alice and Lucy turn and jump on Shiori. Chizuru looks at them surprised before shrugging and smiling then flopping on the pile of girls. 

Later, just as the sun begins to set, leaving a beautiful red hue on the growing night sky, the group makes their way towards the summer festival. Large groups of people make their way through the stalls and across the fields, playing games and enjoying their time. Everyone in the group is dressed up, looking nice for the event.

 “We really had to get dressed up too, huh?..” Hikigaya asks, obviously not the biggest fan of getting fancy.

 “Hey, cheer up, Hiki. You could be wearing one of those ugly outfits you always wear.” Haru says mockingly as Hikigaya growls and swings his arm back to hit him, but Haru quickly dodges and runs away.

 “We were all do for some self care. Besides, it was fun spending the day getting all cute together, wasn’t it?” Sugawara asks with a cute smile. Hikigaya blushes a bit as he nods slightly with the other boys nodding too. Haru laughs before noticing a fun game he wants to try.

 “Ooh! Baby, let’s go try that one!” He then turns and picks up Sugawara in his arms before running off with him, Sugawara smiling and giggling in the process.

 “And there he goes.” Shiori says with a sigh, stepping next to Hikigaya. Touma shakes his head a bit. “Well, I guess you’re free to go. Don’t forget our meeting point!”

 Shiori states to the group as Hikigaya freaks out a bit upon seeing her, covering his mouth and blushing intensely. Shiori notices and looks at him confused.

 “What is it?” She asks innocently. He quickly looks away.

 “It’s nothing! Don’t worry about it.” Hikigaya quickly composes himself. He looks back at her out of the corner of his eye ever so slightly with an adoring look. ‘I forgot how cute she looks tonight…’ He thinks as he watches her. Shiori looks at Hikigaya before smirking smugly at him, leaning close.

 “Oh? Do you like the way I look? So much for feeling nothing when you look at me..” Shiori teases before batting at him with her sleeve. “Hikigaya, you dummy!” She starts giggling as Hikigaya looks embarrassed and starts walking away.

 “Whatever. Not like you got much to look at besides your face.” He mumbles as Shiori gets angry.

 “I’ll give you something to look at! Come here!” She shouts before dropkicking him in the back. The others sigh at them when Hisana tugs Kitaro’s sleeve a little.

 “Come on, Kitaro! Let’s follow Haru, he knows all the fun things to do!” Hisana says while dragging an unenthusiastic Kitaro behind her by his hand. Alice then walks behind Shiori and Hikigaya arguing, a little ways away before noticing them. Her eyes shine as she rushes to them and falls to her knees before them. 

 “You two look so amazing!” Alice shouts as they look at her, sweating a bit. She clasps her hands together above her head and starts begging. “Please please please let me marry you! Both of you!” She begs with cartoonish tears in her eyes. Shiori smiles in embarrassment a bit. 

 “No, that’s okay. We’re too young for that.” Shiori says, looking away.

 “Maybe some other time.” Hikigaya says, blushing in embarrassment too, with an awkward smile. As they tell her this, Shiori places her hand on Alice’s cheek and rubs gently as Hikigaya does the same to the top of her head. Alice blushes and drools in bliss.

 “Ugh, I’m in heaven…” she says with heart eyes.

 As the group walks around the festival, they try different games and win different prizes, while some just enjoy the atmosphere around them. Chizuru specifically makes her way to each and every food stall she comes across. 

 “Oh! That one has grilled corn! I want some!” She says before rushing to get one and quickly doing so. She nibbles happily before another catches her eye. “Kettle popcorn?? Count me in!” She says before handing Touma the grilled corn cob. She munches on a few kettle corn before another stall gains her attention. “Even takoyaki??” she says before giving Touma her food once again.

 She rushes back and forth between food stalls, each time handing Touma another piece of food for him to hold until both of their arms are full. Chizuru eats her yummy snacks with a satisfied look on her face.

 “So much good food~!” She says with a mouthful as Touma sweats with an unamused look on his face and arms full of different foods. Suddenly, Chizuru lightly tugs his arm down a bit so he’s leaning to the side before kissing him on the cheek. He is surprised and blushes a bit as Chizuru gives him a loving look.

 “Thank you.” She says softly with crumbs on her cheek. Touma blushes nervously before smiling and looking away with a nod.

 As Ryuji and Lucy walk down the path of stalls, admiring the sights, Ryuji looks at Lucy. He watches her a bit as she smiles and admires the lights and sights. He smiles softly before lightly tapping on her shoulder. Lucy turns and looks at him with a surprised look as Ryuji leans in close. She turns her head so he can whisper in her ear.

 “You look gorgeous tonight, love..” He whispers. Lucy giggles and blushes as she playfully punches him on the arm with an embarrassed look.

 Shiori and Hikigaya sit next to each other, with Alice and Suiyoubi on Shiori’s side and Chizuru and Touma on Hikigaya’s side. Chizuru munches down on her snacks as Hikigaya sighs and leans on his hand on his knee. Shiori opens one eye and looks at him.

 “You bored?” She asks with a slight tone of looking down on him.

 “Yeah, I guess. Nothing’s really caught my attention here. Maybe I’m just being picky.” He replies, ignoring her tone.

 “Maybe you just need to look harder.” Chizuru says with a mouthful of roasted squid.

 “Maybe. I haven’t seen it all yet, I guess.” Hikigaya responds, leaning back on his hands.

 “Perhaps you should take Shiori to see the rest of the festival?” Suiyoubi offers as Shiori looks shocked.

 “What??” she says. Hikigaya looks with an intrigued look before sighing and standing up.

 “I guess that wouldn’t be so bad.” He turns to the now blushing, embarrassed and nervous Shiori. He offers his hand for her to take. “As long as she doesn’t hit me.” He says with a smile. She lowers her head with an awkward smile until her bangs cover her eyes. She then suddenly jumps to her feet with a blushing but angry look.

 “You say that like I’m always beating you up!” Shiori shouts. Hikigaya sweats a bit before taking his offered hand and using it to scratch the back of his head while looking away. 

 “Well, you do tend to hit me pretty often. I mean, you just did not too long ago.” He says.

 “Oh yeah?! How about this then!” She shouts before jumping up, preparing to dropkick him. Hikigaya yells before a loud thud is heard from her kicking him once again. Suiyoubi sweats as Alice stands up.

 “I think I better join them to make sure this stays nice and romantic.” Alice says. Mormo suddenly pops out of Suiyoubi’s cleavage of her yukata.

 “Stop right there, sista.” Mormo says. Touma and Chizuru’s eyes grow wide from seeing this.

 “What were you doing in there?..” Chizuru asks softly behind them.

 “Hey, mind your own business, old man!” Alice shouts back, pointing a finger at him.

 “Come ‘ere!” Mormo shouts as he jumps on Alice, thrashing on her face. She shouts and struggles to get him off as Shiori looks away from Hikigaya on the ground with a puffy cheeked annoyed look.

 “Come on, the fireworks are gonna start soon.” She says before walking off. Hikigaya shakes his head and focuses before getting to his feet and following her. They walk a bit as Hikigaya rubs the back of his head with a slightly pained look.

 “That one kinda actually hurt..” he says to himself.

 “Hey Hikigaya.” Shiori calls out. He turns a bit before being hit in the face with a water balloon. He looks upset as Shiori giggles, holding another balloon in her hand before turning to the game booth and throwing the balloon at the target. Hikigaya smirks a little before shaking off the water and approaching her.

 They walk together through the festival, playing a game every now and then or adoring the sights. As they look around, Hikigaya turns and notices Shiori. He stares at her for a moment as a blush spreads across his cheeks.

 ‘She’s so pretty tonight…’ He thinks to himself as he adores her. He watches her closely, taking in the sight of her before coming to the back of her neck, exposed by her hair being put up. His eyes grow wide as he gets flustered. Shiori turns and looks at him with a confused look. 

 “You okay, Hikigaya?” She asks him as he snaps his head to look straight forward. 

 “Yep! Never better!” he answers nervously. Shiori stares at him for a moment before looking ahead as well.

 “What do you think the others are doing right now?” She asks plainly. Hikigaya calms down a bit before thinking about the question.

 “Well, if I had to guess, I’d say Haru is probably doing something dumb right now, causing Sugawara to have to clean up the mess.”

 Shows a sight of Haru on the ground in the mess of a table and snacks as his eyes swirl. Sugawara sweats and apologizes to the angry stall keeper.

 “As for Lucy and Ryuji, they’re probably off doing something inappropriate…”

 Shows Ryuji standing over Lucy against a back wall of a small building on the side of the main festival area. They kiss passionately in the darkness of night.

 “Ew, don’t put that image in my head..” Shiori says while drooping a bit with an upset look. Hikigaya laughs a bit as Shiori looks at him. This time she admires him laughing. She blushes before looking away with an embarrassed look.

 ‘Hikigaya…’ She thinks with a smile on her face. ‘We’ve known each other for almost three years now… No, it’s been longer than that. Back when we met for the first time as Fullsky and Watchdog… since that day you’ve done so much for me… You were my first real friend. Even that boy from my childhood didn’t help me as much as you have..’ She looks up just a bit and at Hikigaya. ‘But even that… it almost feels like…’

 Her thoughts stop when they both realize they’ve come to the end of the festival grounds. No more stalls are set up as only people walking in or kids playing on the grassy fields are seen. Mostly groups gathering and preparing for the fireworks show.

 “Well, I guess that’s it. I suppose we did burn a little bit of time. We should probably go find the others though, the fireworks are gonna start soon.” Hikigaya says with his hands on his hips before turning around to walk away. Before he can take a full step though, he feels a gentle tug on his sleeve. He turns with a confused look to see Shiori holding onto it timidly. She looks at him with a determined but embarrassed look.

“Hikigaya… We really need to have a talk.” She says softly. Hikigaya sweats a bit with a worried smile on his face.

“O-Okay?..” He stutters out. Her grip tightens on his sleeve a bit as she looks down.

“I can’t… I can’t do it anymore…” she says under her breath. Hikigaya’s worry increasing.

“Do what?..” he asks.

“It’s been a long time now… I can’t stop having these thoughts and feelings…” she says before looking up at him with an angry look. “When I look at you, I get so angry and annoyed! You piss me off to no end because you’re dumb and get on my nerves all the time! It’s almost like you know every single way to upset me! So much so, it’s to the point where even looking at your face makes me so frustrated because.. your face is so.. cute and you sound so pleasant. You always know how to help me out, even when you don’t have to.”

 Shiori’s angry tone gently shifts to a softer one. She looks around, trying to avoid looking at him as tears start to form in her eyes. Hikigaya watches her with a surprised but listening look.

 “You never needed to be my friend but… you did anyway… You allowed me to meet such nice people and have done so much for me, with me… I just can’t help it… I can’t help but to…” She takes a breath for a moment before smiling softly at him, lifting her head and looking him right in his eyes and saying.

 “Love you, Hikigaya.” She says as a firework shoots up behind her, bursting in the air. Blasting a bright, colorful light across the sky. “I love you, Hikigaya Oshiro. You piss me off to no end and make me mad in a way no one else can. But despite all that, you make my life so much better. I just can’t keep hiding it anymore.” Shiori says with a soft laugh to herself. Another firework explodes as she lowers her head a bit, still with a soft smile on her face. “It’s okay if you don’t like me back. I could’ve just gotten the wrong idea, but I really needed to-”

 Before she can finish, Hikigaya grabs her wrist and pulls it to the side with one hand before grabbing the back of her head with his other. He closes the small gap between them and presses his lips against hers in a love filled kiss.

 Fireworks explode behind them, lighting up the sky in an array of colors and lights. Shiori's eyes are wide for a moment before slowly closing as she wraps her arms around his neck. They kiss for a moment more before pulling away but keeping their bodies close. They gently put their foreheads together as they both smile awkwardly.

 “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear that..” he whispers as Shiori giggles shyly. “Shiori, will you… be my girlfriend?..” he asks timidly. Shiori closes her eyes before bonking her head against his, causing him to hurt a bit.

 “What do you think, dummy?” She says, with their heads still together and a blush across her face.

 “Right.. I just wanted to ask properly..” He says with a pained smile as they hold each other under the bright glow of the fireworks. Lucy and Ryuji watch from a little ways away in the festival grounds before turning to each other and doing a high five.

 Back on the bench where the others were, Chizuru sits with a satisfied look, having finished her snacks. Touma sits beside her, now joined with Haru and Sugawara next to him, although Alice and Suiyoubi are gone. Haru has an icepack on his head from the fall earlier as he looks to be worn out. Lucy and Ryuji approach the group on the bench before Lucy crosses her arms and looks at Chizuru with an informed look.

 “You’ll never guess who I saw kissing under the fireworks.” Lucy says with a smirk.

 “Shiori and Hikigaya.” Touma and Sugawara say plainly in unison.

 “Shiori and Hikigaya?!” Chizuru and Haru shout, shooting up from their relaxed positions to an upright sitting position with excited looks on their faces. Lucy nods with a smile as Chizuru and Haru jump up with joy.

 “Yay! They finally did it!” Haru and Chizuru cheer as they dance together in celebration. 

 “That they did.” Ryuji says with a smile.

 In the festival, Shiori and Hikigaya walk back together while holding hands and looking away from each other with embarrassed looks. Behind them, Alice walks before noticing them holding hands. She quickly turns with a shocked look.

 “Hey hey hey!” she shouts as she charges at them when suddenly, Mormo attacks her face once again.

 “Stop right there!” he shouts as he latches onto her face. Shiori and Hikigaya look back at the commotion as Alice struggles to pry him off, before turning back and smiling at each other, leaving Alice yelling behind them at Mormo.